> Safety

We respect your privacy and security and take appropriate, industry-standard measures to ensure that we provide a safe and secure community. For example, we use Verisign SSL to ensure that any sensitive information you enter on our website is transmitted to us securely over the internet. We've put safeguards in place to ensure that our servers are secure and we continuously monitor our servers for intrusion attempts. In addition, we employ encryption technology to protect your personal information. Read our Privacy Policy for more information.

There are also steps that you can take to keep the Care.com community, as well your own information, secure. Read more about what you can do on our Safety Tips page.

Whether you're looking for or providing care and services, it's necessary for us to make a certain amount of information available to other Care.com members so that an appropriate match can be made. For example, if you're a provider, we will allow people seeking your services to view your first name, first initial of your last name, city, state, and the availability information that you have entered in your profile. We will never display your home address or your email address. To make it easier for those seeking care to contact you, your phone number will display to registered Care.com members on your profile. However, if you prefer not to display your phone number, you can select to hide your phone number by changing your preferences under the Profile section in My Account.

For information on state requirements for licensing and validation, contact Child Care Aware(1-800-424-2246) to get in touch with a local Child Care Resource & Referral agency (CCR&R).

Child Care Resource & Referral agencies (CCR&Rs) help parents take the guesswork out of choosing child care - offering:

• referrals to local child care providers
• information on state licensing requirements
• links to child care financial assistance programs
• other information that is tailored to each individual family

CCR&Rs also help child care providers and communities provide and plan for affordable, high-quality child care.

To request a background check on a care provider, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your account
2. Search for a care provider by using the search box that appears across the top of each page on the site.
3. From a search results page, click on the name of a care provider to view that provider's profile information.
4. Click the "Background Check" tab on the provider's profile. If the provider already has a background check on file, you will be able to request access to view the background check. If the provider does not have a background check on file, you will be able to request that the provider run a background check on themself.

When you request a new background check (or when you request access to an existing background check) the care provider will receive a message notifying them of your request. The care provider must accept your request in order for you to view their background check. Once the provider has accepted your request, you will be notified by a message in your account. You can then return to the care provider's profile to view the results of the background check. Although care providers will typically respond to messages promptly, there may occasionally be delays. If a care provider is not responding to your request, you may follow-up by sending a message to the care provider through the Care.com website. If a provider fails to respond to your request or does not accept your request it may indicate that there is not a good fit between you and that care provider.

Care.com offers 2 types of background checks: Standard and Enhanced. Premium members can request Standard background checks free. There is a $99 charge for each Enhanced background check. The table below summarizes the differences between Standard and Enhanced checks:

A Standard background check includes the following:

1. Social Security Number Verification – The user's Social Security Number will be verified to ensure that it is a valid Social Security Number and that it is associated with the user.
2. National Criminal Databases Search – A database search of nearly 200 million national criminal records will be conducted to see if there are any known cases on file for the user. This type of search can find criminal offenses which were committed outside of jurisdictions where a user has known address history. Records in this database include:
   1. State and county criminal record repositories;
   2. State sex offender registries;
   3. Prison, parole and release files from state Department of Corrections, Administrative Office of Courts, and other state agencies;

   The specific records which are searched vary by state and county. Please refer to this document to understand exactly what records are searched and how frequently the records are updated.

An Enhanced background check includes a Standard background check, plus:

1. County Courthouse Records Search – This is an in-person search of the records on file in each county where the user is known to have lived in the past 7 years. This type of search can find criminal records in jurisdictions that do not provide information to the national criminal records database. (Note: Due to local regulations, for most counties in New York, a county courthouse search will be replaced by a statewide search).
2. Federal Courthouse Records Search – This is an in-person search of the records on file in each federal jurisdiction where the user is known to have lived in the past 7 years. This type of search can find criminal records for federal offenses in jurisdictions that do not provide information to the national criminal records database.

Enhanced background checks involve sending a researcher to the applicable county and federal courthouses. There is an extra charge for an Enhanced background checks to cover the additional expense of someone going to these courthouses in-person to check records.

Background checks are a great way to learn more about the background of a potential caregiver. However, they are not a replacement for checking references and conducting an in-depth personal interview. Here is a list of some of the limitations of a background check:

1. Due to federal regulations, if someone was arrested over 7 years ago but they were not convicted, then the arrest will not be reported by a background check.
2. In CA and NY there are additional regulations that limit the reporting of convictions to 7 years. Accordingly, if someone was convicted in CA or NY over 7 years ago, then the conviction will not be reported by a background check.
3. A Standard background check relies on criminal record data that is provided by jurisdictions across the country to a national database. The specific data in this database and the frequency with which it is updated varies by jurisdiction. For many jurisdictions, only conviction records and not arrest records are included in the database. Please review this document to understand exactly what records are searched.

Standard background checks are free with a Premium membership. However, there is a $99 charge for an Enhanced background check to cover the cost of sending a researcher to the federal and county courthouses to check the criminal records in-person. You will only be charged for completed Enhanced background checks that you can access. If a caregiver does not accept your request for an Enhanced background check within 7 days, the request will expire.

If you are subscribed to Care.com as a Premium care seeker, you can request the first Standard background check on a care provider at no additional cost. If you request an Enhanced background check, there is a $99 fee to cover the cost of a researcher going to the county and federal courthouse in-person to check records.

The results of background checks are compiled using various public and private sources. Although every effort is made to ensure that the background check results are correct, it is possible that the records used to compile the background check are not 100% accurate or complete. For more information, please refer to "What are the limitations of a background check?"

If you believe that your background check results are not accurate, please contact Acxiom Information Security Services, 6111 Oak Tree Blvd, Independence, OH 44131 or by telephone at (800) 853-3228.

Below is a description of the results that can be returned for each component of a background check:

Social Security Number Verification:

Verified — The Social Security Number is valid and it matches the name of the user.

Not Verified — The Social Security Number is either not valid or it does not match the name of the user. It may not match the name of the user if the user has recently changed their name (for example, due to marriage), if the user did not specify their full legal name when submitting the background check request, or if the user is a minor. This result can also be returned if the user does not have any credit history. However, this result may also indicate that the user attempted to run the background check with a Social Security Number that does not belong to them.

National Criminal Records Search:

No Cases Found — The search of the national criminal databases did not return any criminal cases for the user.

Cases Found — The search of the national criminal databases returned one or more criminal records for the user. The details of the records which were found are provided in the next section of the background check report.

When considering the results of the National Criminal Records Search it is important to understand what databases are searched. The specific records which are searched vary by state and county. Please refer to this document to understand exactly what records are searched.

Federal Courthouse Records Search:

No Cases Found — The search of federal courthouse records for the federal jurisdictions in which the user has address history did not return any criminal cases for the user.

Cases Found — The search of federal courthouse records for the federal jurisdictions in which the user has address history returned one or more criminal records for the user. The details of the records which were found are provided in the next section of the background check report.

County Courthouse Records Search:

No Cases Found — The search of county courthouse records for the counties in which the user has address history did not return any criminal cases for the user.

Cases Found — The search of county courthouse records for the counties in which the user has address history returned one or more criminal records for the user. The details of the records which were found are provided in the next section of the background check report.

Statewide Records Search:

No Cases Found — The search of statewide records for the states in which the user has address history did not return any criminal cases for the user.

Cases Found — The search of statewide records for the states in which the user has address history returned one or more criminal records for the user. The details of the records which were found are provided in the next section of the background check report.

When hiring a caregiver we suggest that you directly check the national sex offender registry. A number of free public registry sites are available including Family Watchdog and the United State Department of Justice website.